Sriwijaya FC Eyes Osaka Surprise; PSMS Ready for Maldives Mystery

Sriwijaya FC’s chances of reaching the Asian Champions League knockout phase are remote, but remote does not mean that it’s impossible.

Having suffered two heavy defeats, the Indonesian double winner faces its toughest test yet as it travels to face defending ACL champion Gamba Osaka at Expo ‘70 Stadium on Wednesday.

Regardless of the odds, Sriwijaya head coach Rahmad Darmawan said his side will complete its first continental campaign with dignity.

“I know we only have a slight chance to make it into the next round. And we face the toughest battle against the defending champion, Gamba Osaka, at its home ground,” Rahmad said. “But we have a serious intention to cause a big surprise by, at least, holding them to a draw and taking a point home.”

Just like the club’s trip to Jinan, China, for its March 17 match against Shandong Luneng, cold weather could be a factor. Arriving early could have helped the players adjust to the 17-degree temperatures, but financial considerations kept the team from leaving for Osaka until Sunday.

“I wish we could have arrived earlier, but I have to consider the club's financial burden,” the coach said. “I hope the players can adjust themselves quite quickly to the weather.”

Sriwijaya will receive a lift as first choice goalkeeper Ferry Rotinsulu returns to the squad. He is still nursing a knee injury, though, so Rahmad will keep faith with Indonesian under-23 goalkeeper Dede Sulaiman.

The South Sumatra-based club is last in Group F, having lost 4-2 at home to FC Seoul and 5-0 at Shandong. After its trip to Japan, it hosts Gamba on April 21 before rounding out group play at Seoul on May 5 and hosting Shandong on May 20.

In Wednesday’s other Group F match, Shandong hosts FC Seoul at the Shandong Sports Center in Jinan.

While its Sumatra neighbor struggles to make its way in the Champions League, PSMS Medan will attempt to continue its continental success when it hosts V.B. of the Maldives today at Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium in Palembang, South Sumatra.

New PSMS head coach Rudy Keltjes said he had little information on the visitors.

“I have no idea about the Maldives club at all. I met them at the press conference, and I could tell they have big and strong players,” the club’s fifth coach this season said on Monday. “I know they're just behind us, but we can't take them for granted.”

Rudy took over for interim coach Liestiadi last week. He said he would field his best lineup, including goalkeeper Markus Horison, who was benched against Deltras Sidoarjo after a shaky performance in PSMS’s 2-2 Indonesian Super League draw with PSM Makassar.

“Yes, I will put Markus back in goal. He's ready to get back into action,” he said. “But I still have a handicap as we don't have good goal-getters.”

PSMS is second in Group F with three points after its 3-1 defeat of Malaysian side Johor FC on March 17. V.B., which opened group play with a 0-0 draw at Johor, is third with one point.

After today’s fixtures, PSMS travels to Male’s National Stadium on April 21 to play V.B.

Hong Kong’s South China FC, which has already won 3-0 at home against PSMS and 2-1 away to V.B., hosts Johor today at Mongkok Stadium.

Source: thejakartaglobe.com

Nine Maldives jihadists held in Pakistan

Nine Maldives-based jihadists have been held in Pakistan’s troubled Waziristan province — sparking renewed concern about the use of the Indian Ocean islands as staging-posts for attacks against India’s western coast.

Maldives Minister of Defence and National Security Ameen Faisal told Malé-based journalists that the nine men had been arrested in the troubled Waziristan region of north-western Pakistan, close to the Afghanistan border.

Large swathes of lawless Waziristan are controlled by Taliban insurgents, while Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda is also known to maintain a significant presence in the region.

Eight of the men were identified as Yoosuf Izadhy, 38, of Nicosia in the Malé atoll; Ahmed Ashraf, 31, of Vaikaradhoo; Abdullah Sameer, 38, of Lhaimagu; Ali Faiz, 31, of Vaikaradhoo; Moosa Yoosuf, 30, of Kalhaidhoo; Yoosuf Mohammed, 52, also of Kalhaidhoo; Mohammad Zuhree, 28, of Dhaandhoo; Ali Shafeeq, 25, of Kandholhudhoo and Arif Ahmed, whose personal details have not been released.

Pakistani authorities are reported to have held six of the men in raids on March 11, and six more men on March 12. No details were made available, though, on which jihadist group the men were involved with, and who had arranged for their recruitment in the Maldives.

Malé-based newspaper Minivan News reported that at least one of the men had earlier been held on suspicion of having participated in the September 2007 bombing of Malé’s Sultan Park, which left 12 tourists injured. However, Shafeeq was later cleared of all charges and released.

Growing concern

Concerns about the use of the Maldives by Islamist terror groups has been mounting since 2006, when evidence emerged that Dhaka-based Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Faisal Haroon had explored plans to use the islands as a logistical base.

In the wake of the Sultan Park bombing, 10 key suspects escaped to Pakistan, where they were thought to be sheltered by elements linked to the Lashkar. Maldives authorities are now preparing the trial of one of the fugitive suspects, who was arrested on his return to Malé in January. Three who failed to secure their escape were sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2007.

Growing numbers of Maldives nationals have been drawn to Pakistan-based Islamist groups in recent years. Many were recruited by the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s charitable front, the Idara Khidmat-e-Khalq, which carried out extensive relief operations in the southern atolls after the 2005 tsunami.

For example, Mohammed Faseehu, from the Laam atoll island of Dhanbidhoo, and Shifahu Abdul Wahid, of Dhiffushi island in Kaaf atoll, were reported killed in Jammu and Kashmir in January 2007. Both men had travelled to Pakistan to study at the Jamia Salafiyya. Speaking to journalists last month, Maldives Human Rights Commission president Ahmed said several similar complaints about the death of Maldives nationals had been received.

Investigators also found Ali Shameem and Abdul Latheef Ibrahim, held in 2007 for their role in the Sultan Park bombing, had also been planning to join the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir. Another Maldives national, Ibrahim Asif, was arrested in Kerala in April 2005, after attempting to source weapons from Thiruvananthapuram. And, in 2006, Male residents Ali Jaleel, Fatimah Nasreen, and Aishath Raushan were arrested for preparing to go to Pakistan to receive jihad training.

During his December 2008 visit to New Delhi, Maldives President Mohammad Nasheed had expressed concern about security in the Indian Ocean.

“You have sealed our borders [with Pakistan]”, he said, “but you have pushed terrorists into the Indian Ocean.” President Nasheed referred to the dangers of organised crime operations in the high seas, and warned that “pirates could be recruited into terrorist cells.”

President’s appeal

Noting that upwards of 40 Maldives nationals were known to be studying in Pakistani seminaries controlled by jihadist groups, President Nasheed also called for greater Indian educational assistance.

Source: hinduonnet.com

ADAARAN Resorts inaugurates ADAARAN 'Prestige' Vadoo, Maldives

ADAARAN Resorts unveiled their latest 5 star property ADAARAN 'Prestige' Vadoo. The resort was inaugurated by the Honourable Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Dr. Ahmed Ali Sawad at a function held on 28th March 2009 at the resort. Chairman of Aitken Spence Deshamanya D H S Jayawardena, Deputy Chairman of Aitken Spence J M S Britto, Special Envoy of the President Ibrahim Hussain Zaki and several high ranking tourism industry officials in the Maldives, travel agents, local and international tour operators attended the gala event.

Situated within close proximity to the Male International Airport - a mere 15 minutes by speed boat, Vadoo features 50 brand new subliminally appointed villas including 6 Japanese concept rooms on the ocean that sets the standard for a new level in luxury.

Each villa comes with a personal butler, in-room spa therapy facilities, private dining area on deck, Jacuzzi, plunge pool, DVD player, home theatre system, espresso machine and many other facilities designed to cater to the discerning traveller.

With beautifully landscaped gardens, a majestic infinity swimming pool and intimately placed spa facilities, a simple barefoot existence takes precedence where soothing spa treatments entice the senses.

The fine dining experience with a varied international gourmet cuisine with a wide selection of wines, as well as an exclusive Japanese specialty restaurant. 4Contd. on ADAARAN Resorts own seven properties in the Maldives which include ADAARAN 'Select' Meedhupparu, ADAARAN 'Select' Hudhuran Fushi, ADAARAN 'Club' Rannalhi, ADAARAN 'Ayurveda Village' Meedhupparu, ADAARAN 'Prestige' Water Villas and ADAARAN 'Prestige' Ocean Villas.

Source: dailymirror.lk

Sri Lanka Aitken Spence opens new Maldivian resort

Sri Lanka's Aitken Spence group said it has opened its latest Maldivian luxury resort called Adaaran ‘Prestige’ Vadoo.

The resort, 15 minutes by speed boat from Male’ International Airport, has 50 villas including six Japanese concept rooms on the ocean, a company statement said.

The company said each villa comes with a personal butler, in-room spa therapy facilities, private dining area on deck, Jacuzzi, plunge pool, DVD player, home theatre system, and espresso machine.

Aitken Spence is the fourth largest hotel operator in the Maldives with seven properties under the Adaaran brand and also manages hotels in India and the Middle East.

The opening of the new resort comes at a time when tourist arrivals in the Maldives have fallen sharply because of the global recession.

Aitken Spence's overseas hotels have buoyed the group's bottom line in recent years as earnings from its Sri Lankan properties remained weak owing to the tourism slump caused by the ethnic war.

The group's hotel subsidiary Aitken Spence Hotels said net profit for the December 2008 quarter shot up almost 200 percent to 358 million rupees largely owing to the sale of its Bathala Island resort in the Maldives

Source: lankabusinessonline.com

Maldives aims to end separation of islanders and tourists

The Maldives has initiated a new tourism policy aimed at increasing contact between visitors and inhabitants of the island chain in the Indian Ocean, the country's tourism minister said. Speaking recently to the German weekly newspaper, Die Zeit, the minister, Ahmed Ali Sawad, said there would no longer be a "parallel world" of resort islands kept separate from the islands inhabited by Maldivians.

"We are pleased about every guest who seeks the seclusion of a resort island," Sawad remarked, adding, "But we also want to invite tourists to visit our communities."

Sawad said a first step would be a ferry network linking the some 300 inhabited islands, enabling tourists to "island-hop" and boosting exchanges among the islanders themselves.

"Up to now in the Maldives, we have constantly built for tourism and benefited ourselves only secondarily. Now it's going to be the other way around," Sawad said.

He noted that the creation of luxury resorts in the Maldives had become the norm, whereas mid-priced hotels "have almost disappeared completely over the years."

Source: earthtimes.org